Reality+Check

= Overview =
 * || Lori Cummings llaunie@gmail.com || Denise Henry denisekhenry@gmail.com || Matt Sherwood isurewould@gmail.co || ||

At-risk youth today face numerous challenges in daily life. Adults working with this population in varied settings require specialized training to truly support at-risk youth's academic and socio-emotional success. Reality Check simulates adolescent's daily decisions and explores the life changes brought about by those decisions. The training games are organized as mini-games targeting different aspects of the challenges faced by an at-risk teen. Each mini-game contains a page loaded with follow-up information, videos of individuals affected by a particular issues, and links to local and national agencies corresponding to the issue. The resources section presents a page that trainees can revisit when facing a specific issue at his or her work site.

Mini-games are intended to initiate thought about teen issues including gang violence, tagging, earning "honest" money,drug abuse, and child abuse. The mini-games are not scored, rather, feedback about the players' choice and additional resources are made available to extend learning relating to a particular subject. The games mirror authentic situations that teens face, consequently they can't be "won" or "lost" as most games are. Rather, the player goes away with provocative questions to ponder, and a better understanding of the at-risk population of children.

Instructional Objectives 
Reality Check seeks to cultivate a deeper understanding of the social, academic, familial, and interpersonal issues among the at-risk youth populations in the United States, particularly those living in urban areas. Each mini-game is based on a specific learning outcome.


 * ===Mini-Game Title=== || ===Training Objective=== ||
 * ====Gangsta Life==== || * ==== Trainee will increase knowledge of national or community gang prevention resources. ==== ||
 * ====To Tag or Not to Tag==== || * ====Trainee will be able to recognize the different graffiti styles (gang vs. tagger)====
 * ====Trainee will be able to locate graffiti laws and penalties.==== ||
 * ====Pay Day==== || * Trainee increases knowledge of honest and dishonest ways an adolescent can earn money. ||
 * ====Just Say No==== || * ====Trainee will increase knowledge of behaviors that youth present when under the influence of specific types of drugs.====
 * ====Trainee will increase knowledge of national or community substance abuse resources.==== ||
 * ====Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover==== || * ====Trainee will be able to recognize stereotypes surrounding at-risk students. ==== ||
 * ====No Safe Place==== || *  Trainee will be able to recognize the signs of emotional and physical abuse and neglect.
 * ==== Trainee will be able to locate mandatory reporting laws and procedures for reporting child abuse or neglect in California.   ==== ||

Learners 
Reality Check is designed as a multi-systemic resource for adults who work in fields serving at-risk populations including school staff, social workers, and volunteers in programs such as Big Brother/Big Sister. Individuals serving at-risk populations receive varied levels of training to meet the needs this challenging population. Often, training is tailored to meet the needs of youth in a particular field such as education. Reality Check strives to inform learners in various setting of the issues common to at-risk youth.

Context of Use 
 Reality check is ideal for use in teacher training programs, counselor trainings, government agencies serving youth, youth centers, volunteer organizations. Each mini-games is designed for single play. The resources pages are designed as a reference that learners will revisit when necessary. The games may be projected for large group play/discussion, played in small groups, or individually. Group play will spark conversation; individual play allows the player more time for individual reflection about the topic presented. Skills required for play are few: knowledge of the use of a computer, mouse, and keyboard.

Play sequence for a training session:
 * Before play
 * Trainer facilitates brainstorm session to list current issues at-risk youth face.
 * Warn players that the content of the game may seem extreme, however, the scenarios are based on real-life experiences of youth service workers and at-risk youth teachers.
 * After play
 * Revisit the brainstorm list. Ask participants, "How does the list compare with the scenarios in the game?"
 * Debrief on the decisions that were made, how players felt about events, etc.
 * Review the online resource page
 * Follow with training topics related to the individual's role in support of the population.

Scope 
Reality Check is a self contained series of six smaller games, each attempting to bring knowledge and understanding of at-risk and troubled youth. Each of the six smaller games will take about 10 to 15 minutes to play, but follows up with educational links and resources designed to bring understanding to the player. The six miniature games that are included in Reality Check are:
 * Gangsta Life: The struggle to survive in gang infested neighborhoods.
 * To Tag or Not to Tag: The graffiti duty of a young gangsta, and its consequences.
 * Payday: The decision to earn an honest or dishonest living.
 * Just Say No?: Why say no to drugs when "everyone" does them and they are so easy to get?
 * Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover: At risk kids don't all look the same.
 * No Safe Place: The struggle to survive in an abusive home.

Each of the six branches of the game will include introductory screens or animations before game play starts. When game play finishes, each game will proceed to an informative web page, featuring a video designed to further interest and educate players on the top. Each informative page includes optional jump out links that further inform players about the topic.

Object of the Game 
The goal of the game is to finish all six simulations and learn about the many challenges that face at risk youth. After completion of the games, players should have a better understanding of the challenges facing at-risk youth, and insight into why these children so often make "poor choices".

Design Details 
Reality Check will attempt to bring players into a difficult reality, as experienced by at-risk youth in the United States. It will accomplish this by relying heavily on a dark, photo realistic theme, heavily supplemented by reality video.
 * //Universal Elements//**



=**__Level 1: Gansta Life__**= The first level begins with a journey to school. Playing from an aerial view of a city, the player attempts to avoid roving gang members while navigating city streets from home to school. Numerous gang members are located throughout the area (Figure 1). When player gets too close to gang members they surround him/her. View switches to eye level (Figure 2). The player hears statements and chooses responses that always result in simulated beating. Beatings are indicated by blood spatters on the screen and fighting sound effects. Sample statements and player responses are as follows: (1)"Who do you claim?" "I'm not affiliated", "Blue", "Red" (2) "I heard you snitched on Tookie!" "I'm not a snitch", "So what!"(3) "Give me whatever you got!" "Here, take it all", "*@!$ YOU!!"
 * [[image:GangstaLife.jpg width="399" height="306" caption="Figure 1"]] || [[image:gangsta_life_2.jpg width="400" height="310" caption="Figure 2"]] ||
 * Game Input and Output:**
 * At the beginning of this game, the player closes his front door and nervously surveys the neighborhood. The player then must begin heading toward school.
 * The player navigates a little yellow oval around the neighborhood by pressing the arrows on the navigation circle in the left corner, or using the arrows on the keyboard. The goal is to get across town to school without getting caught.
 * Roving red and blue dots, representing rival gangs, move about the streets.
 * If the player get's too close to the red or blue dots, an eye level screen pops up asking the player to answer a question. The player must click on an answer.
 * Some possible responses could be getting jumped into the gang, or getting bear up for not being a gang member.

=__**Level 2: To Tag or Not to Tag**__= As a young gang member, boy is required to tag the gangs area. He has to go around a neighborhood to tag the gang's area on the street and cross out rival gangs tags without getting caught (Figure 3). Action is from the eyes of the boy at ground level. Game play consists of making it to 5 specific areas to tag without getting caught. If he gets caught by neighbors--he gets chased away with a bat, caught by rival gangs--severely beat up and blood spatters across the screen, caught by police--handcuffs click and he is thrown in juvenile hall. If he fails, he gets reprimanded by his own gang and forced to go out and do it again. Each of these scenarios is indicated by a pop-up screen explaining the consequences of getting caught(Figure 4).
 * [[image:RealityCheck-ToTagorNot.jpg width="402" height="300" caption="Figure 3"]] || [[image:Reality_Check-ToTagorNot-Cop.jpg width="401" height="302" caption="Figure 4"]] ||
 * Game Input and Output:**
 * At the beginning of this game, the player is pushed out of a car, given a spray can, and told to go tag the gangs turf.
 * The player navigates around the neighborhood by pressing the arrows on the navigation circle in the left corner, or using the arrows on the keyboard.
 * The player can also use the "tag" or "untag" buttons to make takes or cross them out.
 * A map, showing the locations to be tagged is fixed next to the navigation circle.
 * If police, neighbors, or rival gangs catch the player, screens appear representing arrest from police, or a beating from gangs.

=**__Level 3: Payday__**= As an early high school student, a teen is in need of money. Five characters appear on the screen. Each can get the teen money. When the characters are clicked on, A video appears of a teen working at the job. The goal is to present a realistic picture of the job (Figure 5). Next to the video, a summary appears with a sale's pitch from the employer, a realistic assessment of their sales pitch, a summary of job pay, hours, and requirements. The employers are Wal-Mart, a chop shop, McDonald's,a drug dealer, and a landscaper. The point is to show how attractive it can be to earn money illegally(Figure 6).
 * [[image:showmethemoney.jpg width="399" height="303" caption="Figure 6"]] || [[image:showmethemoney2.jpg width="402" height="302" caption="Figure 5"]] ||
 * Game Input and Output:**
 * At the beginning of this game, the player is informed that he is in desperate need of money. Five possible employers appear.
 * The player clicks on each employer and gets a pop-up of a sales pitch and video representing a teen working in the job.
 * Each employer offers a different sales pitch with a different image of the employees working in the job.
 * After all employers have been previewed, the player chooses which one would be the most appealing to work for.

=__**Level 4: Just Say No?**__= Adolescent is offered several types of drugs on a typical day (On the way to school, at school, at a party after school) (Figure 7). The game is played from the perspective of a kid who will take a drug to look cool to friends, but attempts to take a drug that (s)he feels will affect him/her the least. The player is presented with several types of drugs at once. When he clicks the hand offering the drug the view of the screen changes based on the type of drug he takes and he may hear sounds such as a racing heartbeat. (Figure 8). Drugs will be mixed, such as joints laced with PCP, to increase the negative effects of drugs typically viewed as less harmless.
 * [[image:realitycheck_drugs1.jpg width="398" height="299" caption="Figure 7"]] || [[image:realitycheck_drugs4.jpg width="442" height="300" caption="Figure 8"]] ||  ||
 * Game Input and Output:**
 * At the beginning of this game, the player is walking home from school and steps into a run down street. The screen changes and 4 types of drugs are offered up on the screen.
 * The player must try all of them to pass the level.
 * As a drug is clicked on, the screen goes into a drug-like simulation similar to the effects of the chosen drug.
 * This process is repeated for each drug.
 * At the end of the game, statistics related to drug abuse among at-risk teens are presented on the screen.

=__**Level 5: Don't Judge a Book**__= Game: Scene is a classroom full of middle school students. On musical intro, "camera zooms" around the room getting a close up view of each student. As game-play begins, the view zooms out so all students in the class are visible. Each student has a number hovering around them. Descriptive profiles are boxed off at the top of the screen(Figure 9). As player mouses over each profile an information box pops up with a more descriptive profile of the student's personal and academic life. The player needs to drag the student's number onto the correct profile box at the top. If the wrong student is chosen, that student gives the player a piece of their mind for judging and stereotyping them. Descriptions keep coming until all students have correctly been matched. After students descriptions are sorted, player is informed that their choices are based on stereotypes. Then as they click on students the proper description of their life appears on the screen(Figure 10).
 * [[image:realitycheck_atriskstudent2.jpg width="401" height="301" caption="Figure 9"]] || [[image:realitycheck_number5.jpg width="399" height="300" caption="Figure 10"]] ||
 * Game Input and Output:**
 * At the beginning of this game, the player is shown a classroom of students. The camera zooms around the room and then settles on a frozen screen of students gathered around a teacher. Each student is numbered and at the top of the screen are descriptions of students that need to be matched up with teens.
 * When the black boxes are clicked on, detailed scenarios of lives are student lives are brought up.
 * The player must drag the student numbers onto the correct description of their life.
 * After all students have been identified, a pop-up indicates which players were correctly identified, and a lesson on stereotyping people ensues for those who were incorrectly labels.
 * The player must repeat the level until all students are correctly labeled.

__**Level 6: No Safe Place**__
Played from child's perspective. Each round of play presents mental and physical abuse and neglect scenarios in the game. Player navigates through a home and makes choices such as "clean the kitchen or talk on the phone"(Figure 11). Every choice the player makes results in abusive action. Player encounters multiple abusive situations from parents, siblings, and step father. Physical abuse is indicated by a slapping sound and visible changes in the screen such as tears, blood, and blurred vision on the screen. Mental/emotional abuse is indicated by yelling voice berating the player. Tasks and obstacles are introduced mid-game. For example, the player sees a pop-up screen stating "Time for dinner, click to find food". Player clicks on cupboard doors and refrigerator only to find mice, cockroaches, and empty liquor bottles. In another scenario, a younger sibling runs into the bedroom crying hysterically about an obviously broken arm. Again, choosing to help results in abuse(Figure 12).A meter, symbolizing consciousness, is on the screen and goes down as more abuse happens. If the meter runs out, the player must restart the level.
 * [[image:RealityCheck-NoSafePlace1.jpg width="399" height="300" caption="Figure 11"]] || [[image:RealityCheck-NoSafePlace2.jpg width="398" height="301" caption="Figure 12"]] ||



Game Input and Output:
 * At the beginning of this game, the player is sitting in a chair in the bedroom. The door flies open and an abusive parent starts giving orders.
 * The player navigates around the house by pressing the arrows on the navigation circle in the left corner, or using the arrows on the keyboard.
 * The player can also use the action buttons to make various choices. Choices usually result in a negative response from the abusive parent.
 * A meter, showing the consciousness level of the player, is fixed under the navigation circle.

**Technical Elements**

 * Reality Check would best be developed for play in an online environment.
 * The best tool to achieve this end is to us Adobe Flash Professional CS3. Developing the game in flash would allow it to be platform independent.
 * The game would need to be compliant with current CSS standards, and operate in Firefox and Internet Explorer.
 * The screen resolution would be geared for a 600 x 800 screen.
 * Graphics and sound would be in created in 8 bit depth.
 * Images would be created in .jpg, .gif, and .png formats.
 * Sound files would best be presented in .mp3 format.
 * Files will be named as RC_Level1_etc...
 * Saving the game will not be necessary as levels can be skipped at intro.

= = =Competing Products=

Play Against All Odds (UNHCR)
http://www.playagainstallodds.com/game_us.html This educational simulation game depicts the life of a refugee and allows the player to imagine what life would be like as a refugee. The simulation, which is most reflective of our game, //Reality Check//, takes the player through three stages of a refugee’s pursuit for asylum. The first part of the simulation, titled “War and Conflict – running from persecution,” engages the player in four stages of fleeing from a country and the obstacles that a person encounters. The second four stages titled “Border Country – can I stay here?” lead the player through simulations that focus on finding a place to stay and homage in a foreign country. “A new life – loss and challenge” is the third simulation, which focuses on the struggles of finding employment, language barriers, and building a comfortable life in a refugee’s new country. The simulations give the player the opportunity to feel what it would be like to flee a country and the perceptions and stereotypes that some people have in the new country. The educational simulation is a great concept to teach other people about the plight of a refugee, and parallels //Reality Check// in teaching trainees about at risk students.

** Third World Farmer **
http://www.3rdworldfarmer.com/ The //Third World Farmer// game teaches players the hardships of maintaining a family in a world full of war, disease, and corruption. The game is a serious educational game, but also has an element of fun. //Third World Farmer// involves helping a family make enough money to afford things like an education, good health, and other necessities and wants. The game is designed to help the player think about how to keep one’s crops safe, and how to make good decisions to earn money. The player focuses on how much money he needs to earn in one year, and even though there is a chance that a player’s farm could be robbed or a drought could destroy all of the player’s earnings, the end result is usually positive. A player can focus on making a lot of money, which makes the game more fun than some of the other educational games we reviewed. At risk students have similar issues to face in their world, such as poverty, poor health, and deciding between needs and wants, as do families in //Third World Farmer//. //Reality Check//, however, is a simulation game and a player does not accumulate points for making certain decisions.

Ayiti – The Cost of Life
= = http://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/rights/explore_3142.html The objective of //Ayiti – The Cost of Life// is to try to keep a family in rural Haiti healthy and happy for four years. Success is measured in the education the family gets over the course of the four years, not in the amount of money they earned (although they need money to be able to attend school). The family faces some difficult challenges resulting from poverty, severe weather, and even potential violence. But if they're careful and lucky, they may have a chance at a better life. This game is similar to Reality Check in that it shows the hardships a person endures in order to live a successful life. At risk students in the United States are faced with numerous challenges and obstacles, but their plight is not as well known as those in Haiti or other impoverished nations. = = = Motivational Issues= <span style="color: rgb(230, 145, 56);"> <span style="color: rgb(230, 145, 56);"> Learning to work with at-risk youth is as important as it is challenging. //Reality Check// takes the trainee through a series of simulations that engage the trainee in the severe obstacles and challenges faced by today’s at-risk teenagers. The //Reality Check// "[games] force players to think actively, to try out different solutions to problems, to understand a given game mechanism," Game Design: Theory & Practice Second Edition Chapter 1 by Richard Rouse III. The simulations allow the trainee to delve into the lives of at-risk teenagers and absorb vital information that will aid them in serving the at-risk population. The trainee is also engaged through the use of video pop-ups and external Internet sites that teach them many important statistics and facts about at-risk populations and the tremendous problems they face. //Reality Check// is a series of six games that are primarily simulations of issues that face at-risk youth. Incorporated within the simulation are videos. The trainee is motivated by their curiosity in learning how at-risk youth live, struggle, and persevere. The trainees that are participating in the game/simulations might have very little knowledge of at-risk teenagers and the obstacles they face. The game introduces the trainee to some of the most difficult challenges that face these students. The game evokes the questions: what is it like to be tormented by gang members? What is it like to be abused? What does an at-risk youth look like (not stereotypical)? What are the effects of illegal drugs? //Reality Check// evokes a sense of curiosity in the trainee. In the text __Making Learning Fun__ (Malone and Lepper 1987) Malone and Lepper state that "In a sense, curiosity is the most direct intrinsic motivation for learning" (p. 235). The simulations in //Reality Check// touch on both the sensory and cognitive curiosity of the trainee. The simulations allow the trainee to understand a side of society that they may have had preconceived ideas about, and their cognitive curiosity about the truth leads them through an entirely new reality. “Instructional environments can stimulate curiosity by making people believe that their existing knowledge structures are not well formed.” (p. 236). Keller and Suzuki in “Use of the ARCS Motivation Model for Courseware Design” (Keller 1987) state that “Once you have gotten people’s attention through perceptual arousal, you will activate a much deeper level of curiosity by engaging them in an inquiring frame of mind,” (p. 410). The videos and images displayed in //Reality Check// are very appealing to the trainee’s sensory curiosity. “Sensory curiosity involves the attention-attracting value of variations and changes in the light, sound, or other sensory stimuli of an environment,” (Malone and Lepper, p. 235). //Reality Check// leads the trainee through a series of game simulations that engage the player into a mental state that Mihaly Chikszentmihalyi (1990) describes as flow. When a person is in flow, they are very engrossed in what they are doing “concentration is so intense that there is no attention left over to think about anything irrelevant or to worry about problems” (p. 71). The trainee, although not challenged to earn points, is challenged to learn in a new and stimulating way. This aspect of the simulation allows the trainee to remain in a state of flow because they are challenged to continue learning. The information presented may be shocking at times, and the addition of videos and visuals help keep the player interested, hence achieving a state of flow. //Reality Check// truly engrosses the trainee in a different reality by teaching them new and interesting (and sometimes disturbing) facts. Chikszentmihalyi states that "They facilitate concentration and involvement by making the activity as distinct as possible from the so-called "paramount reality" of everyday existence" (p.72). In //Reality Check//, the every day existence of an at-risk youth is so drastically different from that of an average student or person, that the trainee is drawn into a state of flow from beginning to end

= Design Process <span style="color: rgb(230, 145, 56);"> = The beginning of our design process involved researching other games on the Internet. We had a firm idea about what we wanted our game to be about, at-risk youth, but needed a basic structural design for the game. After reviewing about twenty games, we determined that we wanted to incorporate some of the design elements from the game //Third World Farmer//. Once we began building our design document, we quickly realized that having our players earn points would not be the best strategy. We went back to the drawing board and deliberated about how to best teach trainees about the lives of at-risk youth. Our objective remained the same: how do we teach trainees about the obstacles and issues faced by today’s at risk teenager? After reviewing a few more games, we determined that a simulation would be the best design for //Reality Check//. We all played a game titled //Play Against All Odds//, which is a simulation game for refugees. This concept fit beautifully into what we wanted to accomplish. We began to come up with simulations, and created six different games, working together in //Google Docs.// To accompany the simulations, we researched a variety of Internet resources and videos to assist the trainee in their understanding of at risk youth. The different simulations that we developed are listed below. After developing the criteria and objectives for each game, we created several screen shots to assist the designer in creating //Reality Check//. We used //Google Sketchup//, //PhotoShop//, and an open source program called //Paint.net//. Images were obtained through //Flickr.com//. = Game 1 – Gangsta Life = Training Objective: (1) Trainee will increase knowledge of national or community gang prevention resources. Setting: Aerial view of a city. Player attempts to avoid roving gang members while navigating city streets from home to school. Numerous gang members located throughout the area. When player gets too close to gang members they surround him/her. View switches to eye level. The player hears statements and chooses responses that always result in simulated beating. Beatings are indicated by blood spatters on the screen and fighting sound effects. Sample statements and player responses: (1)"Who do you claim?" "I'm not affiliated", "Blue", "Red" (2) "I heard you snitched on Tookie!" "I'm not a snitch", "So what!"(3) "Give me whatever you got!" "Here, take it all", <span class="wiki_link_ext">*@!$ YOU!!

Web facts and resources:
= Game 2 – To Tag or Not to Tag = Training Objective: (1) Trainee will be able to recognize the different graffiti styles (gang vs. tagger). (2) Trainee will be able to locate graffiti laws and penalties. Game: As a young gang member, boy is required to tag the gangs area. He has to go around a neighborhood to Tag the gang's area on the street without getting caught. Action is from the eyes of the boy at ground level. Game play consists of making it to 5 specific areas to tag without getting caught. If he gets caught by neighbors--he gets chased away, caught by rival gangs--severely beat up, caught by police--thrown in juvenile hall. If he fails, he gets reprimanded by his own gang and forced to go out and do it again.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> Video or written account from victims of gang violence
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center http://safeyouth.org/scripts/index.asp
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> National Youth Gang Center http://www.iir.com/nygc/
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> CA Gang Laws http://www.iir.com/nygc/gang-legis/california.htm
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> Facts about gangs: http://www.19thcircuitcourt.state.il.us/bkshelf/gangalrt/gangalrt.htm
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> Facts on Gang Violence: http://www.acs-onweb.de/hd/content/pres_c2_facts_about_gangs/FactsonGangViolence-Dateien/FactsonGangViolence.htm
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> National Youth Violence Prevention: http://www.safeyouth.org/scripts/facts/gangs.asp

Web fact and resources:
= Game 3 – Pay Day = Training Objective: (1) Trainee increases knowledge of honest and dishonest ways an adolescent can earn money. Game: Getting Paid. As an early high school student, boy is in need of money. Five characters appear on the screen. Each can get the boy money. When the characters are clicked on, "A video appears of the boy working at the job. The goal is to present a realistic picture of the job." After the video, a summary appears of how much he would earn, and how much work would take up his free time, and requirements for the job (such as a uniform and silly hat). The employers would be McDonalds, a landscaper, a drug dealer, a chop shop, and Walmart. The point is to show how attractive working for organized crime would be.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> Video or written narrative of property owners who are victims of graffiti writers discussing the cost of removal and how the cost is passed along to consumers.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> Video of real gang members explaining why they tag, spray graffiti, and how they respond to other gang graffiti. The video is just meant to understand their reasoning and thinking.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> Gang graffiti versus tagging (National Alliance of Gang Investigators): http://www.nagia.org/Gang%20Articles/Graffi.htm
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> California Governor's law against graffiti: http://www.gov.ca.gov/press-release/10330/

Web facts and resources:
= Game 4 – Just Say No (to Drugs) = Training Objective: (1) Trainee will increase knowledge of behaviors that youth present when under the influence of specific types of drugs. (2) Trainee will increase knowledge of national or community substance abuse resources. Game: Adolescent is offered several types of drugs on a typical day (On the way to school, at school, at a party after school). The game is played from the perspective of a kid who will take a drug to look cool to friends, but attempts to take a drug that (s)he feels will affect him/her the least. The player is presented with several types of drugs at once. When he clicks the hand offering the drug the view of the screen changes based on the type of drug he takes and he may hear sounds such as a racing heartbeat. Drugs will be mixed, such as joints laced with PCP, to increase the negative effects of drugs typically viewed as less harmless.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> Video or written narrative of adolescent's view of honest vs. dishonest ways to earn money. Present individuals who believe that earning money honestly and dishonestly is legitimate.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> Improving the Economic Life of At-Risk Youth: http://www.mdrc.org/publications/361/concept.html
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> Video: Helping At Risk Youth get ready for work and life (Changemakers): http://www.changemakers.net/node/5119
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> Teen Prostitution/Addictions: http://weakest.org/2008/05/08/teen-prostitution/
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> How to tell if a youth is selling drugs (signs): http://www.ehow.com/how_2066613_tell-kid-selling-drugs.html

Web facts and resources:
= Game 5 – Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover = Training Objectives: (1) Trainee will be able to recognize stereotypes surrounding at-risk students. Game: Scene is a classroom full of middle school students. As player mouses over each student an information box pops up with a brief profile of the student's personal and academic life. Player uses mouse to drag students into different sections of the room. After students are sorted player is informed that their choices are based on stereotypes and that any student in the room is at risk for any type of issue. Alternate Version: This is a play on a matching game: Scene is a classroom full of middle school students. On musical intro, "camera zooms" around the room getting a close up view of each student. As game-play begins, the view zooms out so all students in the class are visible. A description of a personal life, including the good and the bad, pops up. The player needs to drag the description onto the correct student. If the wrong student is chosen, that student gives the player a piece of their mind for judging and stereotyping them. Descriptions keep coming until all students have correctly been matched.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> Video or written account from young person who is in recovery. Include experiences from family members.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> What do you know about teen drug use quiz http://www.theantidrug.com/advice/parenting-drug-knowledge-quiz.asp
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> Partnership for a Drug Free America http://www.drugfree.org/dontsoundlikeyourparentstoolkit/

Web facts and resources:
= Game 6 – No Safe Place = Training objective: (1) Trainee will be able to recognize the signs of emotional and physical abuse and neglect. (2) Trainee will be able to locate mandatory reporting laws and procedures for reporting child abuse or neglect in California. Recognizing physical signs of abuse (a child has multiple bruises, cuts - he cowers in fear when papers are handed to him) (2) Recognizing emotional abuse (a student is crying and can't keep it together - he doesn't want to go out to recess) (3) Recognizing neglect - (a child does not have a lunch and appears to have dirty and tattered clothing. He is distant and his homework isn't getting done. He doesn't want to leave school). (4) Recognizing signs of sexual abuse (a student is withdrawn and cannot stay focused. His personality has changed significantly, and he doesn't want to sit down during class. He keeps asking to use the restroom, and smells of alcohol). Played from child's perspective. Each round of play presents mental and physical abuse and neglect scenarios in the game. Player navigates through a home and makes choices such as "take out the trash or talk on the phone". Every choice the player makes results in abusive action. Player encounters multiple abusive situations from parents, siblings, and step father. Physical abuse is indicated by a slapping sound and visible blood spatters on the screen. Mental/emotional abuse is indicated by yelling voice berating the player. Approximately seven minutes into the game the player sees a pop-up screen stating "Time for dinner, click to find food". Player clicks on cupboard doors and refrigerator only to find mice, cockroaches, and empty liquor bottles. Approximately nine minutes into the game a younger sibling runs into the kitchen crying hysterically about an obviously broken arm.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> What does an at-risk youth look like? http://www.at-risk.org/
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> Effective schooling for at-risk youth: http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/1/topsyn1.html
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> Link to resources for at risk youth: http://www.servicelearning.org/instant_info/hot_topics/at-risk/index.php

Web facts and resources:

 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> Child Protective Services (CPS) San Diego: [|[[http://www2.sdcounty.ca.gov/hhsa/ServiceCategoryDetails.asp?ServiceAreaID=83q|http://www2.sdcounty.ca.gov/hhsa/ServiceCategoryDetails.asp?ServiceAreaID=83]]]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> Child Abuse Hotline SD: http://www2.sdcounty.ca.gov/hhsa/ServiceDetails.asp?ServiceID=89
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> Child Abuse and Neglect - When to Report It: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/child_abuse_physical_emotional_sexual_neglect.htm <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">Abuse Resources: http://darkness2light.org/GetHelp/child-sexual-abuse-resources.asp?gclid=CP-YmMywj5cCFQkiagod_Bg3JA
 * Video of Abused Children:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv52n2jmGlY&feature=related

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<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> <span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica;">**Books & Journals** >
 * Csikszentmihalyi, M., (1990). //Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.// New York, NY. Harper Perennial
 * Keller, J. M., (1983). //Development and Use of the ARCS Model of Motivational Design// (Report No. IR 014 039). Enschede, Netherlands: Twente Univ. of Technology. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 313 001)
 * Malone, T.W., & Lepper, M.R. (1987). Making learning fun: A taxonomy of intrinsic motivations for learning. In R.E. Snow & M.J. Far (Eds.). Aptitude, learning, and instruction. Volume 3: Cognitive and affective process analysis. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.


 * Electronic**
 * 3rd World Farmer http://www.3rdworldfarmer.com/
 * Against All Odds http://www.playagainstallodds.com/
 * AYTI, The Cost of Life http://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/rights/explore_3142.html
 * e-Adventure, http://e-adventure.e-ucm.es/ Game Design: Theory & Practice Second Edition Chapter 1, by Richard Rouse III , [|Gamedev.net]
 * Roblox, http://www.roblox.com/
 * Simgua, http://simgua.com/
 * StarLogo TNG, [|http://education.mit.edu/drupal/starlogo-tngetc.]
 * Youth Worker Competencies http://youthworkcentral.org/core_competencies.html